Date Sweetened No Oil No Sugar Granola

After lots of test batches I’m quite happy with this date-sweetened granola with no added sugar or oil. The dates give it plenty of sweetness and a date and nut butter mixture binds the granola together. That makes the the granola clump, which ought to please those of you who like little granola chunks. If made with gluten-free oats, the recipe is gluten-free. I’ve been using homemade walnut butter here. I’ll make my next batch with a commercial almond butter to see how an oilier, commercial nut butter affects the recipe and report back.

This granola recipe is really flexible. You can substitute nuts, grains, and seeds at will. As written, the recipe includes lots of inflammation-fighting omega-3 rich goodies like flaxseed, walnuts, and hemp hearts. Hemp hearts can be overly expensive, but Costco has them for a good price. I sprinkle hemp hearts on salads and use them in this granola, and a Costco-sized bag lasts me a long time. I keep the hemp hearts and all of my nuts and seeds in the freezer for freshness. Flax seeds go rancid quickly so it’s especially important to buy them from a good source and keep them frozen until you need them.

Thanks to Badger Girl and her Granola 6.0 for getting me started making granola again and introducing me to the idea of using quinoa in granola. I started with her recipe and gradually morphed it: the list of dry ingredients is still pretty similar. Quinoa makes for some extra crunch in the granola. I found it better to pan-toast the quinoa for a few minutes before baking it with the rest of the dry ingredients to get fully cooked and toasty-flavored. It’s an optional ingredient: I like the version without it about as well as the crunchy quinoa variation.

Mix together oats, pepitas, sunflower seeds, nuts, quinoa, flaxseed, and hemp hearts in a large bowl.

Spread mixture onto first baking sheet.

Spread coconut flakes onto a second baking sheet.

Pit dates, chop, process in a food processor until they stick together in a ball. Add nut butter to processor and process until dates and nut butter are well combined. Put date/nut butter into the work bowl of a stand mixer and set aside.

Place both baking sheets in oven.

Bake, stirring every six minutes.

Remove coconut flakes when golden but not dark brown, about 8-10 minutes.

Continue to bake the first baking sheet of granola, stirring every six minutes. Remove from oven after 24 minutes, earlier if the granola starts to brown.

Combine the pan of granola with the date/nut butter paste in the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix together on low for a couple of minutes until the granola is well combined with the date/nut butter paste.

Add coconut flakes, mix together.

Press into cake pan. Cool. Break up and store in a glass jar.

2.2.1

Update 9/7: Tried this with commercial almond butter, it worked. I wrote up the nutritional information for the almond butter version. Once I figure out the calories for my homemade walnut butter, I’ll add that too. Healthy ingredients or not, granola is a high-calorie food, so be aware, but not afraid. This granola is more than 50% fat by calories, but it’s healthy fat from nuts and seeds.

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I need to try making granola someday. I don’t eat the store-bought kind because it’s usually either too expensive or not terribly healthy. Everything in here sounds so delicious, though, and I love that it’s sweetened with dates!Kiersten recently posted..What I Ate This Week + Maple Chipotle Squash Wedges Recipe

Thanks, Kiersten! You are right the store-bought kind tends to be pricey even though it’s made from cheap, not terribly healthy ingredients– usually mostly oats, sugar, and vegetable oil.mary recently posted..Blog Re-design with Thesis

Finally, a granola recipe that’s actually different! After a while, they all start to sound the same… Tons of sugar, and often butter, too. This is all the more perfect because I somehow ended up with three separate bags of hemp seeds in my freezer, and nothing to do with them. I might toy around with a peanut butter version to use up another surplus. Hannah recently posted..Mint Condition

This looks so healthy Mary! I love the addition of the dates and I’ve never added quinoa – what a terrific idea!! Hemp is something I should experiment more with. I know we did in school, but I can’t remember now what we made or if I tasted it :-). I really need to revisit this.The Wimpy Vegetarian recently posted..Skinny Potato and Fennel Gratin with Leek Confit

The hemp hearts are good! I was kind of surprised by that because I dislike hemp milk. You can sprinkle hemp hearts on top of things like casseroles just like you might use wheat germ. Thanks for the visit!mary recently posted..Bronze Ice Dance Test | Hickory Hoedown